2013 DAA Recipient

Ivan SeidenbergFormer Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, Inc.1972 Graduate of Lehman College – City University of New York

Ivan Seidenberg began his telecommunications career more than 40 years ago when he joined New York Telephone, one of Verizon’s predecessor companies, as a cable splicer’s assistant. He went on to lead Verizon from its inception in 2000, first as co-Chief Executive Officer, then as sole CEO, and then as CEO and chairman. He transformed Verizon into a premier global network company by building a nationwide wireless network, deploying high-speed fiber broadband direct to homes, and expanding Verizon’s global Internet backbone network around the world.

Seidenberg stepped down as CEO in July 2011 and continued to serve as chairman and as a member of the Verizon Board of Directors through December 2011 when he retired from the company.

He began his career as a cable splicer's assistant at New York Telephone, eventually becoming head of NYNEX in 1994. He took a senior position in Bell Atlantic after that company merged with NYNEX. When Bell Atlantic became Verizon, Seidenberg was sole CEO of the company.

In 2006, Seidenberg donated $15 million to Pace University. Pace’s School of Computer Science and Information Systems was officially renamed the Ivan G. Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

In 2007, President George W. Bush named Seidenberg to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee,[3] which advises the president on communications issues related to national security, emergency preparedness and the protection of critical infrastructure. He was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Export Council, which advises the President on how to promote U.S. exports, jobs and growth, and the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, which provides counsel on communications issues related to national security. From 2009 to 2011, he chaired the Business Roundtable, an influential association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies.

Seidenberg has a long-standing commitment to using communications technology to address societal issues and improve education, healthcare, and the environment. During his tenure Verizon’s signature philanthropic programs included Thinkfinity.org, an award-winning online educational resource, and HopeLine, a wireless recycling program whose proceeds go toward domestic violence prevention.

Seidenberg is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences’ President's Council and serves on the board of trustees of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, The New York Hall of Science, Pace University, the Paley Center for Media, and on the Board of Directors of BlackRock Inc.